Pruning-shears.



. particularly to shears of UNITED s'rArEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CRONK, OF MONTOUR FALLS. NEW YORK, AssieNoR TO CRONK & CARRIER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or ELMIRA,

NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF'NEW YORK.

PRUNlN G-SHEARS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ORoNK, residing at Montour Falls, in the county of Schuyler and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pruning-Shears, of which the following is a full, clear, andijexact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates ,to shears, and more the type commonly called pruning-shears.

' thereof is to provide a simple and efficient implement of the above type the blades of which are not likely to spring in use, so as to interlock. Y

Another object is to provide pruningshears which will cleanly cut the object upon which they are used without crushing the same.

Another object is to provide an efiicient device of the above type which will hold the ob ect upon whichit is used while the same is being cut..

Another object is to provide pruningshears which will cut relatively large branches or similar articles without 0 ance of injury to the blade. I

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the implement herein described'and the scope of the a plication of which will be indicated in the following claims. "i

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown one of various possible embodiments of my invention, Figurel is a perspective view of the same. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the parts thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line a: a: of Fig. 1. Fig, i is a sectional view taken on line w as of Fig. -1 with the shears in an open condition. Y Y

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In order to render clearer the nature of my invention, it may first be noted that in the use of implements of the general type with which One of the objects.

this invention deals there is often a tendency to spring or 1pry the blades out of normal 'position in suc manner as to throw each blade within the path of travel of the other. If

this occurs with blades of certain shapes now in general use, there is a marked likelihood of the same interlocking, with consequent inconvenience to the user and chance of injury to the blade. It may also be noted that if the surface of either blade is irregular and that blade is s rung toward the opposing blade the irregu if they likely to I blade. The above and other defects are remedied in constructions of the nature of that hereinafter described.

Referring now to the drawings, there is cannot interlock nevertheless are shown in Fig. 1 a pair of shears comprising,

broadly, the members land 2, to which any desired form of handles may be affixed, the same not being shown, as they form no part of the present invention. Thesemembers are pivotally connected, as by a rivet 3, and u on one of the same is formed a straight b ade 4, preferably of the form shown in the drawin s.

Mem er 2 is provided with a blade comprising, broadly, three portions 5, 6, and 7, the first and third of which are substantially straight and substantially radial with respect to the pivotal rivet 3 and are yet inclined slightly with reference one to another, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, for a purpose hereinafter I explained. The inclined portion 6, which joins the one end ,of the outer portion 5 to the adjacent end of POI-7 tion 7, is curved at its base or part adjacent portion 7 fora purpose hereinafter described. The inner edge of theprojection 8, formed by inclined portion 6 and is slightly beveled, as shown at 9, for a purpose hereinafter described.

It may here be oted that the expression beveled is used throughout this description and in surface described is inclined with respect to the plane of the adjacent'surface whether it be plane or merely rounded off. It may also here be noted that the term inner as descriptive of the side of the blade is used theouter portion 5,

ar projections therein even nick or otherwise injure the other the following claims ina broad v sense as descriptive of a shape in which the throughout the following claims to refer to that part of the blade lying adjacent to the opposing blade when the implement is in normal closed condition.

The method of use of the above-described embodiment of my invention is as follows: When it is desired to cut a comparatively large limb or branch, the same is placed upon the portion 7 of the irregular blade and the blade 4 forced down upon the same in the well-known manner. The limb is thus driven against the inclined portion 6, resting against the lower curved base thereof, and is cleanly severed, as it is firmly and evenly supported and the blade 4 forced downwardly thereon, the inclination between the portion 7 of one blade and the straight edge of the other being such as to cause them to cut a heavy limb with a minimum of eifort. Any springing of the blades which may possibly result when the implement is used upon a heavy limb will neither lock nor injure the tool, as the substantially straight outer portion 5 has no tendency to interlock with the straight blade 4, and the projecting point 8 is prevented from nickin or otherwise injuring the opposing blade y reason of the slight bevel 9 above mentioned. The outer portion 5 upon member 2 is adapted to coact with blade 4 for the purpose of cutting smaller limbs or twigs and is given such inclination as to perform its function in the most efiicient manner, the inclination betweenthis portion and blade 4 being less than that between portion 7 and the opposing blade, as it is unnecessary that a drawing cut be brought to bear upon a com aratively small twig, and the same may e cleanly clipped off with a pressure which is applied nearly directly downwardly upon the same.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive, and eflicient implement which can be used upon the largest objects Without injury to the blade and with the chance of interlocking reduced to a minimum.

It will also be seen that the shears herein described are well adapted to cut the object u on which they are used without crushing t e same and with a minimum of effort in the use thereof. Another advantageous feature lies in the durability of the above-described implement, the several parts of which, although of light construction, being so formed as best to resist the wear and tear of hard practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, I intend that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accom anying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I desire it also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an implement of the class described, a pivotally-mounted blade the edge of which comprises two substantially straight portions slightly inclined with reference one to another and an inclined cutting portion joining said substantially straight ortions.

2. In an implement of the c ass described, a pivotally-mounted blade the edge of which comprises two substantially straight portions slightly inclined with reference one to another and an inclined portion joining said substantially straight portions, said inclined cutting portion being slightly curved at the base thereof.

3. In an implement of the class described, a pair of pivotally-connected members and blades on said members, one of said blades having an irregularity in the edge thereof and having the upper portion of said irregularity beveled upon its inner side.

4. In an implement of the class described, a pair of pivotally-connected members having blades formed thereupon, one of said blades being provided with an edge comprising two portions slightly out of alinement and an inclined portion joining the same, the portion of said blade at the junction of the upper partof said inclined portion with one of said first-mentioned portions being beveled on the inner side.

5. In an implement of the class described, a pair of pivotally-connected members having blades formed thereupon, one of said blades being provided with an edge comprising two portions slightly out of alinement and an inclined portion joining the same, the portion of said blade at the junction of the upper part of said inclined portion with one of said first-mentioned portions being beveled on the inner side and said inclined portion being slightly curved at the base thereof.

6. In an implement of the class described, a pair of pivotally-connected members, each of said members having a blade thereon, the edge of one of said blades comprising two substantially straight portions slightly inclined with reference one to another and an inclined portion connecting said substantially straight portions, said inclined portion being slightly curved at the base thereof, and the portion of said blade adjacent the junction of the upper end of said inclined portion. with one of said first-mentioned portions being beveled upon its inner side.

7. In an implement of the class described,

a pair of pivotally-connected members havclined cutting portion being beveled upon its ing blades formed thereupon, one of said inner side. I

blades being provided with two cutting edges In testimony whereof I afiix my signature disposed substantially radially with respect in the presence of two witnesses.

to the pivot and out of alinementwith each WILLIAM CRONK. other and having an inclined cutting portion Witnesses: j oinin said cutting edges, and the portion of W. -D. BoWLBY,

said bade adjacent the upper end of said in- F. L. MALLORY. 

